Aubrey Manning is Emeritus Professor of Natural History at the University. He is recognised as one of the country’s leading authorities on animal behaviour. Professor Manning tells the story of life in Scotland and how it is inextricably linked to the history of Earth itself. His lecture begins when the plate tectonics of our dynamic planet began to assemble a bit of the crust we can label ‘Europe’ - about 500 million years ago. This lecture is part of the "Edinburgh Lectures" series, which address a range of major public issues in a national and international context. Recorded on 27 February 2013 at the University of Edinburgh's Playfair Library Hall.